Top 10 hiking trails in Beijing

Plan your Beijing hiking tours? Here are the ten best hikes in Beijing, each with a combination of scenery and local cultural that make them well worth your going out of your way to enjoy.

Lingshan Mountain (灵山)Lingshan Mountain, situated in the west of Mentougou District, is the highest mountain around Beijing, at 2303 metres in height. The mountain has become a great travel destination for tourists from the surrounding regions.

A special Tibetan folklore festival is held to fully display Tibetan life in July and August. During this period, tourists can taste the original sasanqua, tsamba, milk tea, barbecue and other Tibetan foods. The also can enjoy the Tibetan-style songs and dances, compfires, shooting and other sports.

Ticket Price: 35RMB
Opening Time: 07:30-18:30
Tel: 010-60857994
How to get there: Bus No.929(支) to Shuangtangjian and take a taxi to the Lignshan Mountain.

Lingshan

Miaofengshan Mountain (妙峰山)Miao Feng Shan, about 55km West of Beijing, is the nearest mountain in Beijing. There are persimmon and hawthorn fruits in the area. Red leave trees include maple, yellow smoke trees, and persimmon. Miaofeng Mountain is one of the high peaks rising to over 1,300 meters. Its sheer cliffs, jutting crags and tortuous mountain paths make it one of the most renowned scenic spots in northern China.

At the end of April in west Beijing, Miao Feng Shan Mountain featuring a century-old pilgrim’s trail—the Golden Summit – is holding the biggest temple fair in northern China. Thousands from all over China would gather every year on the first day of the forth lunarcalendar – month to worship good luck, family prosperity and maternity goddesses.

Miaofengshan

Yunmengshan National Forst Park
The Yunmengshan National Forest Park lies at the border of Miyun District and Huairou District, which is a renown resort and national level park. Yunmengshan is viewed as “Tinny Huangshan” because of its gorgeous scenes like the towering peaks, deep valleys, strange stones, streams all around, changeable clouds, luxuriant trees, beautiful flowers.

Songshan Forest Park (松山)
Located at the northeast of the town of Yanqing, about 90 kilometers from downtown Beijing, Songshan Mountain area is one of the municipality’s forest parks, and the only forest in northern China under state protection. With an altitude of 2,199 meters, Songshan Mountain is the second highest peak around Beijing, just after Lingshan Mountain.

Jiufeng National Forest Park (鹫峰)Jiufeng National Forest Park is located in Beianhe, Haidian District, about 18 kilometers from the Summer Palace. Jiufeng Peak has a long history and used to be one of the 72 barracks of the Liao Dynasty. The two peaks look like a soaring vulture, so it was named Jiufeng Peak.

Wulingshan Nature Reserve (雾灵山)Sited in the northwestern part of the Xinglong County, Hebei Province, 130 kilometres away from Beijing, Wuling Mountain (Wulingshan) is well known for its sheer cliffs and precipices, deep valleys, lingering clouds, cold climate, springs and pools, 47m high Buddhist pagoda and the characters on the cliffs.

Ticket Price: 90
Tel:010-81021473

Wulingshan

Beigong National Forest Park(北宫山)Covering an area of 8 square km, Beigong National Forest Park was conferred as 4A level national tourism attraction and one of the most exquisite gardens in Beijing and the largest forest park nearest to Beijing city center. The main peak in this park is called Langpo Peak (Wolf Slope Peak) at 349.8 meters in height.

Shangfangshan National Forest Park (上方山)Shangfangshan, as the branch of the Mt. Yan, is located in Fangshan Districe, in the southwest of Beijing’s suburban area. With its main peak 860 meters (2,820 feet) high, the park is characterized by vast area of woods, nine marvelous karst caves, twelve stupendous peaks, seventy-two ancient temples, and the largest stupa group in North China.
The park is also known as a Buddhist shrine for its seventy-two ancient temples. There are 72 ancient temples totally.
Add: Shengshuiyu Village, Hancunhe Town, Fangshan District

Ticket Price:50 RMB
Opening Time: 08:00-18:00
How to get there: Bus No.917 to Fangshan Bus Station, then transfer to No.15 minibus to Shangfangshan National Forest Park.

Shangfangshan

Mangshan National Forest Park (蟒山)Located on the east side of Ming Tombs Reservoir in Changping District, Mangshan is the largest national forest park in Beijing with the highest peak at 659 meters. The Mangshan mountain is named Mang (meaning python in Chinese) because it undulates like a huge python. The park is home to 176 plant species; 96 percent of the park area is covered by forests. The most important species are evergreens such as Chinese pine, arborvitae, and lacebark pine.Add: 2 Mangshan Road, Changping District, Beijing

Ticket Price: 10 RMB
Tel: 010-60711866
How to get there: Bus No.912, 845 and 919 to the terminus Ming Tomb Reservir, then walk across the dam.

Mangshan

Xiaolongmen Forest Park (小龙门)Located in Xiaolongmen Village of Qingshui Town in Mentougou District, Xiaolongmen National Forest Park is a national AA natural scenic spot for vacations and scientific research & teaching as well.

The park displays totally different scenery in each of the four seasons. In spring, flowers bloom and trees turn green; the whole scene is like a huge colored tapestry. In summer, it is a popular spot due to its natural air-conditioning. In autumn, the scenic area is a world of red leaves and fruits. In winter, the park is all covered with pure snow sparking in brilliant sunshine.

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6 Responses to “Top 10 hiking trails in Beijing”

Hello- Are both Yunmengshan National Forest Park & Qinglong Gorge Scenic Area close to each other since you can take both 916 or 936 Dongzhimen to Huairou then change to mini bus to reach seperate destinations? I’ve heard 936 goes directly to Qinglong Gorge April-Nov, does it also go to Yunmengshan? Is every bus go there directly or only at certain times of day or on certain days? Thank you.

Actually there are two Bus 936支线 which go along the separate routes below:

The First Bus 936支线 goes directly from Dongzhimen to Qinglong Gorge Scenic Area.
The second Bus 936支线 goes directly from Yujiayuan (于家园) in Huairou to Yumenshan National Forest Park.

There are two ways to go from Dongzhimen to Yumenshan as below:

1. Take the first Bus 936支线 from Dongzhien and get off at the stop of Qinglong Daokou (青龙道口站) in Huairou ( one stop before Qinglong Gorge Scenic Area Stop), then change for the second Bus 936支线 going for Yumenshan.
2. Take Bus 916支线 from Dongzhimen and get off at the stop of Yujiayuan (于家园), then change for the second Bus 936支线 going directly to Yumenshan National Forest Park.
Note: The second Bus 936支线 goes from Yujiayuan (于家园), passing by the stop of Qinglong Daokou (青龙道口站), finally to Yunmenshan. So the first Bus 936支线 and the second Bus 936支线 intersects at the stop of Qinglong Daokou (青龙道口站) in Huairou. That’s why the passengers from the first Bus 936支线 can change for the the second Bus 936支线 at Qinglong Daokou (青龙道口站) going for Yumenshan National Forest Park by taking the second Bus 936支线.

Important notice:
When you take the second Bus 936支线 either from Qinglong Daokou (青龙道口站) or from Yujiayuan (于家园) for Yunmenshan, the bus stop sign indicates the direction to Tanghekou （汤河口) instead of Yunmenshan.

Qinglong Gorge is located in the north of Beijing (Huairou) while Yunmenshan is in the northeast of Beijing (Miyun District). They are approx.20km from each other, taking over 40 minutes by self-driving due to the zigzag mountain roads.

A friend of mine told me that if I take the 昌平 line all the way north then I would end up near a lot of mountain ranges and hiking trails outside of Beijing. Are any of these hiking spots on this website located near the end of the 昌平 line? Thanks!